Trustee Finis St. John says UAB should focus on medical programs, not stadium

Finis St. John, shown at a September University of Alabama System Board of Trustees meeting in Huntsville, says UAB should not be focused on building an on-campus football stadium. (The Huntsville Times/Robin Conn)

BIRMINGHAM, Alabama -- A letter from University of Alabama System trustee Finis St. John to UAB National Alumni President Janice Ward says the university needs to focus on health care funding and keeping its significant medical school programs from continuing to slide instead of building an on-campus football stadium.

The letter, which was sent to more than 10,000 members of UAB's National Alumni Society (NAS), was written by St. John to explain his position on the board of trustees' decision to keep the proposal for the 30,000-seat stadium off the agenda for the trustees' meeting earlier this month in Tuscaloosa. But the letter also touched on other facets of the university, including health care.

"UAB is a national and world leader in many fields," St. John wrote. "The hospital and medical school are points of pride for everyone in our state. But in the last 10 years UAB has faced increasing challenges. In health research funding, UAB's national ranking has declined significantly over the last 10 years. The cancer and cardiology programs are no longer nationally ranked. Changes in health care funding will require intense focus and leadership to maintain the excellence we expect from UAB. I would hope that everyone who cares about UAB and the people it serves will encourage UAB to make these matters of crucial importance to its students and the state of Alabama its highest priority."

Justin Rodgers, a member of the NAS board of directors, said St. John's claim about funding is not true. "Mr. St. John has a right to voice his opinion but there are some inaccuracies in it," Rodgers said.

The UAB alumni group was obligated to send the letter to its members at the request of St. John, Rodgers said. But the release carried a disclaimer that the NAS "does not endorse this letter nor do we agree with its contents, its facts or its conclusions."

St. John dedicated most of the letter to his opinion on the stadium. His points included:

* The proposal that was originally scheduled for presentation in November called for borrowing $75 million when the earlier estimates were $30 to $40 million.

"It's $60 million that we've asked (to borrow)," Ward countered.

The $15 million remaining, according to the university's feasibility study put together by Athletics Director Brian Mackin and vice president Richard Margison, has already been committed through private gifts. However, St. John questioned that, saying it was only a "projection."

"He's kind alluding to, 'Well, you don't have it in hand,'" Rodgers said. "Well, we can't until it's a real project."

* St. John compared UAB's proposal to the one used at the University of Central Florida to build Bright House Networks Stadium on the UCF campus. The letter states that that stadium was funded through "naming rights, revenues from suites and club seat leases, ticket and concession sales, donations, corporate sponsorships and advertising."

UAB's proposal is different, he said, because it "obligates the university to pay using public funds. This kind of speculative funding is unprecedented in our system and raises great concerns."

The letter also states that under UCF's plan, "no public money or tuition fees were used to build."

The UCF revenue sources that St. John cited are included in UAB's plan.

"Central Florida, to my knowledge, just went a different way about financing it, but the university had to personally guarantee the money," said Justin Craft, a former UAB football player and graduate. "UAB just showed to be more public with the way we approached it."

* St. John asked in the letter for a reason to support an on-campus stadium when it will "be locked over 350 days a year."

The plan, according to a letter sent to the board of trustees earlier this week by state Sen. Jabo Waggoner, R-Vestavia Hills, is that the "stadium could also be put to use many times a year for everything from soccer games to concerts."

* St. John said it is not the UA system's responsibility to make decisions that would benefit the city of Birmingham.

"With all due respect to the city leadership, we should not ask parents, students and taxpayers in Dothan, Decatur or Cullman to underwrite expensive projects for Birmingham's economic development," the letter read.

State Rep. Jack Williams, R-Vestavia Hills, bristled at that statement.

"Mr. St. John's position appears to be intellectually flawed," Williams said. "I'm not certain if he fails to understand or is just unwilling to admit that economic development anywhere in the state is good for the entire state."